This invention relates to an exposure apparatus for exposing the resist on a substrate to a design pattern when a semiconductor device or the like is manufactured, a method of manufacturing devices using this exposure apparatus, and a stage applicable to this apparatus and method.
Examples of such exposure apparatus known in the art include a stepper which sequentially exposes a plurality of exposure areas on a substrate such as a wafer to a pattern on a master plate via a projecting optical system while the substrate is moved in steps, and a scanning-type exposure apparatus which moves a master plate such as a mask and a substrate relative to a projecting optical system and scans the master plate and the substrate by slit-shaped exposing light to thereby expose the substrate to the pattern on the master plate by scanning.
A step-and-scan-type exposure apparatus has been proposed in recent years. This apparatus exposes a plurality of areas on a substrate to a fine pattern in highly precise fashion by repeating the above-mentioned stepping motion and scanning exposure in such a manner that exposure of a fine pattern can be carried out with greater accuracy. This exposure apparatus is so adapted that exposing light is limited by a slit so that only a portion of the light comparatively near the optic axis of the projecting optical system is used. This makes possible the exposure of a fine pattern with improved accuracy.
However, in an exposure apparatus such as the step-and-scan-type exposure apparatus the purpose of which is highly precise exposure, a decline in overlay accuracy and in the precision of the exposed image is caused by slight vibration or deformation of the apparatus owing to a reaction force produced at the time of acceleration when the master plate or substrate is moved in the scanning direction. Waiting for this vibration or deformation to diminish before performing exposure results in a decline in throughput.